New House leader tenant of lobbyist

Boehner's work closely coincides with Milne's interests.

Boehner's work closely coincides with Milne's interests.

February 08, 2006|THOMAS B. EDSALL The Washington Post

WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Boehner, R-Ohio, who was elected House majority leader last week, is renting his Capitol Hill apartment from a veteran lobbyist whose clients have direct stakes in legislation Boehner has co-written and that he has overseen as chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee. The relationship between Boehner, John D. Milne and Milne's wife, Debra R. Anderson, underscores how intertwined senior lawmakers have become with the lobbyists paid to influence legislation. Boehner's primary residence is in West Chester, Ohio, but for $1,600 a month, he rents a two-bedroom basement apartment near the House office buildings on Capitol Hill owned by Milne, Boehner spokesman Don Seymour said Tuesday. Boehner's monthly rent appears to be similar to other rentals of two-bedroom English basement apartments close to the House side of the Capitol in Southeast, based on a review of apartment listings. Milne's clients -- including restaurant chains and health insurance companies -- hired him to lobby on issues at the heart of Boehner's work, including minimum wage hikes, small business tax breaks and tax-free savings accounts to help cover insurance costs, congressional lobbying records show. In the weeks preceding last week's GOP leadership elections, Boehner acknowledged his close ties to the lobbying community, but he assured Republican lawmakers that all of his relationships were ethical and campaigned on a platform of change and reform. Seymour reiterated that message Tuesday night. Seymour added that he does not know if other members of Milne's mCapitol Management firm have lobbied Boehner. But Boehner's work closely coincides with the interests of Milne. In 2002, the House approved the Economic Security and Worker Assistance Act, a tax measure originally drafted by Boehner, Rep. Sam Johnson, R-Texas, and Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, R-Calif., as the Back to Work Act. The measure eventually was signed into law as an economic stimulus.